Leaving the topic "Where is God?"
which seems to have run its course, I'll run by some additional thoughts
about the whole September 11 attack on civilized humanity.

On my flight from London to Los Angeles
last month (only last month?), there was an incident that frightens
more in hindsight than at the time. While I stood in a line to use
the water closet in a crowded American Airlines jetliner holding nearly
300 passengers, a 20-something man in the section of the plane ahead
of ours got out of his seat, pulled a ski mask over his face, and
rushed in a crouching posture to some acquaintances on the opposite
side of the section my son Mike and I were seated in. He appeared
to want to startle his acquaintances and, once done, he pulled the
stocking cap with eye openings back off his head, had a laugh, shoved
the cap in his pocket and walked normally back to his seat in the
foreward section. A man sitting near where I was standing, a decade
or so older than I, even (that is, probably past 70), got the young
man's attention as he returned and angrily said, "that wasn't
funny."

"It was funny to us," the young
man replied, flipping his head to imply that he could care less.

As you might imagine, I've thought of
that incident a lot in the past two weeks, and some serious post-facto
reflection was inspired by a speech a pilot reportedly made over his
plane's P.A. shortly after commercial flights resumed, which I'll
take up tomorrow. Meanwhile, these observations....

The "joke," as it was apparently
intended to be regarded, brought no apprent reaction from the flight
crew whatsoever. It's possible it escaped the notice of all flight
attendants, though that seems highly unlikely, considering the distance
the youth traveled with the ski mask on and the murmur that went up
near him. Still, most passengers were probably oblivious of anything
happening; my son, for example, didn't know it had happened until
I related it to him much later.

The youth was not "apparently"
middle-Eastern, and if he had been I must confess I'd most likely
have been more startled at the onset. He had features that could be
from just about any Indo-European ethnicity. Like Sirhan Sirhan, for
example, I wouldn't think "Arabic" on first look, but he
could be. I realized, as I thought about whether I could describe
him, I would probably use Sirhan and Sal Mineo as similar types; he
was, like both of them, shorter than average, with "good looking"
features, and actually fairer complexion than Mineo (a well-known
actor of the 1950's and '60's for those too young to remember him;
he was cast in youth roles well into his adult years, and though of
Italian background one of his best known starring roles was as a Native
American).

The question that makes it difficult to
sleep these nights is: was he possibly one of the hijackers of the
four commandeered planes? Was this a short rehearsal? On the negative
side, it seems improbable that one of the actual hijackers would risk
exposure by playing such a dangerous game. On the other hand, he might
have been in league with them if not actually one of their core...testing
the waters to see if American Airlines had very quick response mechanisms
in place to deal with such contingencies, and report his findings
to those wanting to know.

If that's the case, so far as I could
discern there was little doubt about what report he would leave on
his co-conspirator's answering machine.

Webmaster Jon Kennedy

Husbands, wives

My mother buried three husbands, and
two of them were just napping.

Rita Rudner

Sent by Mike Harrison

Thought
for today

"When I despair, I remember that all through
history the ways of truth and love have always won. There have been
tyrants, and murderers, and for a time they can seem invincible, but
in the end they always fall. Think of it...always."

Mahatma Gandhi

Sent by Wim Roelandts

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